Even as the Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners gets ready to consider medical marijuana dispensary legislation in the coming months, a more immediate concern about the dispensing of another kind of grass is expected to be on the agenda of the April 27 township workshop: grass clippings.

Township residents are no longer allowed to drop off grass clippings from lawn mowing at their residences at recycling centers, according to a notice posted April 18 on the township website:

“Effective immediately, due to the closure of Lehigh County’s recycling facility in Schnecksville, the township cannot accept grass clippings at either drop-off location until further notice while suitable alternatives are explored.”

You apparently can blame the Spotted Lanternfly for the ban.

“They [the county] cited the Spotted Lanternfly. They didn’t want that [recyling] material,” Salisbury Township Assistant Manager-Director of Finance and Acting Township Manager Cathy Bonaskiewich told a reporter for The Press April 20.

In March, Salisbury Township and Coopersburg borough were added to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Spotted Lanternfly quarantine, which includes Lower Macungie, Upper Macungie, Upper Milford, Lower Milford, Upper Saucon, Whitehall and South Whitehall townships, Alburtis borough, Macungie borough, Allentown city and Bethlehem city.

The quarantine, supported by affected communities, states items that could hold any life stage of the Spotted Lanternfly may not knowingly be moved outside the quarantined area without inspection and compliance. This includes firewood, vehicles, outdoor household items and any items stored outside, as well as building materials and plants or plant parts.

The quarantine includes municipal recycling centers.

The Spotted Lanternfly is an invasive insect first discovered in Berks County in September 2014. The quarantine also covers portions or all of Bucks, Chester, Montgomery and Northampton counties.

The Spotted Lanternfly, aka Lycorma delicatula (White), attacks hosts including grape vines and apple trees and has the potential to harm the grape, fruit tree, and logging industries. Early detection is considered vital for the protection of Pennsylvania businesses and agriculture.

In recent years, following the ending of curbside pickup of grass clippings in Salisbury, residents could drop off grass clippings at the Devonshire recyling center on the west side or Franko Farm Park Recycling Center on the east side.

“Now we have to think about what to do with grass clippings,” Bonaskiewich said. “We’re trying to figure out if there are places to take it [grass clippings] and, of course, price is an issue.”

Bonaskiewich said the township recycling center grass clippings were mixed in with dried leaves and transported by Republic Services, township waste hauler, to an Upper Saucon compost site.

“Now with the volume of grass and with no leaves, we have to decide where to take it,” Bonaskiewich said.

Lehigh County stopped accepting grass clippings in mid-October 2016, following the grass-growing season.

“The best thing to do is let the grass clippings go back into your yard,” Commissioner Debra Brinton said.

“It’s just a suggestion,” Brinton added. “It doesn’t mean I oppose picking up grass clippings.”

According to the Penn State University extension website, the Spotted Lanternfly is an inch-long black, red and white spotted pest native to China, India, Japan and Vietnam. The pest had not been found in the United States prior to its initial detection in Berks County.

As of April 4, a Spotted Lanternfly kit, could be downloaded from the Salisbury Township website. The kit includes information regarding identification, handling yard waste, a time of year management chart and what to do if you find Spotted Lanternflies on your property.

Several Spotted Lanternfly public meetings were held or are being held in April, including 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. April 29 at the Milford Township office, 2100 Krammes Road, Quakertown.

Spotted Lanternfly information can be found: salisburytownshippa.org/township-news, extension.psu.edu and pda.state.pa.us/spottedlanternfly.

To report sightings of the Spotted Lanternfly, call 866-253-7189 or visit Badbug@pa.gov.